Date/Location:
March 12, 3065 / Alarion, Lyran Alliance (Class A)
Mission Briefing:
Dropship Dotted Line, orbiting Alarion near Port Sydney, 05:29 local time
Miss Black gathers those of you that are still aboard the dropship in the primary briefing room while XO Thames, Doge, Dmitri Mordvinov, Andrew Kasprzyk and the rest of your comrades still planetside join remotely from their respective locations across Port Sydney.
“Leutnant-General Hildebrandt zu Zhongshan has declared martial law on Alarion as a result of the Black Marauder’s takeover of one of their battalions, and he’s using the opportunity to press-gang us and other mercenary companies into compulsory service for the LAAF,” Miss Black says with a sour look on her face.
“We have orders to hot-drop into the city as soon as possible. Our assigned AO is in between the Lyran First Regulars’ third and seventh companies and directly in the center of the rogue battalion’s path, so it’s very likely we’ll be fighting the Black Marauder directly. Let’s review what we know about it,” she continues as she activates the briefing room’s display from her datapad.
Images of the Black Marauder appear on the display along with a list of weapons and other specifications. Miss Black points to the list of weapons on the display first.
“It looks like a MAD-2R, but we’ve seen it use PPCs, a Gauss Rifle, UAC20s, AC10s, Pulse Lasers, SRMs, Medium Lasers, LRMs, and an artillery cannon. It could be some kind of advanced omni-mech design or some sort of stealth system that allows it to mask its true loadout, but we don’t know for sure. Expect that it will be deadly at all ranges.”
She then turns to satellite imagery of the Black Marauder’s drop pod on its approach to the ground. “Thanks to Bote’s team, we also believe that it has ECM capabilities and potentially some sort of advanced sensor system that allows it to effectively engage enemies it can’t see directly. We have no idea how it works. All you need to know is that taking cover may not guarantee your safety.”
Miss Black next points to some of the combat footage from the last mission at the Port Sydney base. “Whether it’s an advanced targeting computer or just incredible skill, bear in mind that whomever or whatever is in that cockpit is a crack shot and an ace pilot. Stay mobile and use the terrain to your advantage. We’ll need to use our numbers to–”
Miss Black is interrupted by a commotion on the feed coming from Doge and XO Thames. Dr. Romero dashes into view with a datapad in hand shouting, “Wait! Wait! You need to hear this!” His brow is beaded with sweat and he looks quite disheveled.
“Dr. Romero…I thought you were still recovering,” Miss Black says with mild surprise. “What do we need to hear?” she asks.
Dr. Romero takes a few quick breaths and then responds. “While we were in that spatial anomaly, we witnessed beings that used sigils like this one,” he pauses to hold up his datapad to the camera, showing a picture of an elaborate symbol that seems to almost writhe before your eyes, forcing you to focus hard to keep it still. “The amount of anti-graviton particles they were giving off was amazing! It’s as though they had total control over tachyons and axions–”
“Dr. Romero, I hate to interrupt,” Miss Black interjects, “but I need you to limit your explanation to actionable intel, please.”
“Oh, right…” Dr. Romero says as he puts his hand to his chin in thought for a moment before continuing.
“Simply put, if the Black Marauder can do half of what I saw in that other place, it means that it can potentially distort space around itself to manipulate its speed and maneuverability. It can basically utilize jump drive technology in ways humanity couldn’t even begin to comprehend. That’s all I can say about it for now without further research,” Dr. Romero concludes.
“You heard Dr. Romero,” Miss Black says. “It may look like a Marauder, but expect it to move like a Wolverine.”
She directs your attention to the last two images on the display. One is a shot of the Black Marauder engaged with the Atlas at Port Sydney base, with the Atlas frozen in place mid-punch. The other is a picture of the Black Marauder as it takes over the mechs in the mech hangar. A chill runs down your spines.
“There’s still a lot we don’t know. This thing may have even more tricks up its sleeves, so don’t underestimate it no matter what.”
Miss Black brings up a map of the AO on the briefing room display. “It looks like it’s heading for the Ioto Galactic Enterprises North Bay facilities, so that’s where we’ll be fighting. If we knew why it was headed there–”
“Stygian, if I may interject?” Dr. Romero asks.
“Go ahead Dr. Romero,” Miss Black replies.
“Ioto Galactic Enterprises just finished construction of a compact K-F drive a few days ago. This is speculation, but given what we know, it’s possible that the Black Marauder is drawn to sources of exotic particles like jump drives,” Dr. Romero says.
“It’s as good a guess as any, Dr. Romero.” Miss Black turns to address those of you in the room with her. “Mechwarriors, I want you to destroy the Black Marauder before it gets close to that jump drive. You’ll form two lines of defense. Franco, Kasprzyk and Anselm, you’re in charge of the first line while Mordvinov, Eckert and Heinlein are in charge of the second line.”
“Stygian, I have an idea for something that may be able to help us, but I’ll need some help to make it happen. Is there anyone you can spare?” Dr. Romero asks.
“Hmmm…” Miss Black pauses in thought for a moment.
“Franco, I want your company assisting Dr. Romero. Mordvinov, your company will be straddling between the two lines to compensate.”
“In addition to your own forces, I’m making my entire company available to you,” XO Thames declares. “I expect all my people and their rides to make it home this time, Kasprzyk, Anselm and Heinlein,” he continues with a glare.
Miss Black concludes the briefing by saying “This is the first time we’ve deployed on this scale, so I advise you to think about the composition of both lines as a cohesive unit rather than two separate forces. Drop pods launch in half an hour, so get to it.”
Primary - Destroy the Black Marauder
This has the potential to be a two-part mission with the second mission picking up immediately where the first left off. Control of AA forces will change between the two missions, but this does not necessarily mean that units from the first game will be gone at the start of the second game. Players may choose to keep units on board or retreat them at the end of the first mission.
You can elect to bring units from any active mercenary company, not just your own, but you must have the owner’s permission.
Tom/William please speak up if you don’t want any of your units to be used for this first mission.
This is full risk, full reward–units from other companies will gain XP and TIL (if applicable), but damage sustained is handled as normal.
Units may withdraw off AAs home edge at any time.
AA will start with units already placed on the board in any locations of their choosing as long as they are not within the 5 northern-most rows of the map.
You may bring as much tonnage as you like but you can only field 16 units in each defensive line. Up to 12 units in each line can be new additions that are not already on site (see the list of on-site units below). In addition to your own units, XO Thames has opened up his entire company for use in this mission. The following units are already planetside and can be added or used in place of your own units (with owner’s permission):
Units requiring standard ammunition reloads will receive them at no cost, but no repairs are being executed before the start of this mission–if you have battle damage from a previous mission, it will be there at the start of this mission.
I need two unit lists for this mission–one for each defensive line.
Thomas, please select three mechwarriors, vehicle crews, or infantry platoons to assist Dr. Romero with his plan.
First Line (December): Josh, Devin, and KC
Second Line (January): Devin, Tom, and William
Assassination - Mission objectives involve the destruction of one or more specific targets
Urban - The mission takes place in urban terrain
Strategic Options - AA will need to make difficult choices as part of unit selection
Dangerous - There is a higher than normal chance for pilot injury or death
Asymmetric Force Composition - The amount of tonnage deployed by AA and OpFor may not be equal
Time Sensitive - Success or failure of mission objectives hinges on completing them before time runs out
ALL STARS - AA may bring units from any mercenary company and are encouraged to bring their best
Miss Black is scrambling to get this put together before you initiate your combat drop.
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Northern California Gamers Eat More Vegetables
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Tonnage Allotment
You may bring as much tonnage as you like but you can only field 16 units in each defensive line. Up to 12 units in each line can be new additions that are not already on site (see the list of on-site units below). In addition to your own units, XO Thames has opened up his entire company for use in this mission. The following units are already planetside and can be added or used in place of your own units (with owner’s permission):
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OK, for the front line, given my Jenner’s Road Rash please remove it from the roster. That leaves us needing 3 units in the First Line. Please add:
AE Prowler (if the reload time lets us kick the treads clear, GUMS Regulator if not)
PF Man o War B
PF Man o War D
I leave it to the second line participants to fill their battle’s holes….
Cheers,
Josh
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If the Regulator is damaged, I’ll grab your non-C3M Manticore instead. Running some else’s CO during such a dangerous mission gives me the heebie-jeebies.
Cheers,
Josh
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